Hundreds Call For End To Iraq War

All Ages Rally In West Palm, Boca Raton

September 25, 2005|By Patty Pensa and Ushma Patel Staff Writers and Information from The New York Times and Bloomberg News was used to supplement this report.

Waving signs saying "Honk 4 Peace" and "Feed the Poor, Not the War," about 300 protesters in Palm Beach County on Saturday called for an end to the Iraq war and the safe return of American armed forces.

Local rallies in Boca Raton and West Palm Beach were held in tandem with a massive anti-war protest in Washington, D.C., and events from Seattle to London to Rome.

"I believe we're in a war that is meaningless at this point," said Karen Valez, 48, of Boca Raton. "Bring our boys home today."

Valez and about 100 others gathered at each corner of Glades Road and St. Andrews Boulevard in Boca Raton, raising their signs to enthusiastic reception as a number of passing motorists blared their horns.

In West Palm Beach, about 200 protesters gathered in Currie Park to show their solidarity with the Washington protests. Joyce McHugh of Boca Raton, mother of Navy Seabee Scott McHugh, who died in Iraq in May 2004, received a plaque honoring her sacrifice.

"Mr. President, I urge you to bring all our men and women home now, and not in caskets, wheelchairs or on crutches," she said.

The large turnout of young people marked the West Palm Beach event, organized by a coalition of groups opposed to the war. Budding activist Jeffrey DeLuca, 14, said he e-mailed friends and tried to arrange rides to the rally. He stopped supporting the war four months after it began on March 19, 2003, when weapons of mass destruction still had not been found, he said.

"We are going to have to fix this mess," he said. "There's no reason we should be involved."

Suzanne Porath, 13, of Palm Beach Gardens, carried a "Draft Jenna" sign, a reference to the president's daughter, and said that despite American sacrifices, Iraqis did not seem to embrace democracy.

"We can't pull out now, but there should've been a plan. We should make a plan to get out quick," she said.

Elaine Geller, a Hollywood commodities broker, agreed that the administration needed a better plan to get out of Iraq.

"It's beginning to be a quagmire, like Vietnam was," she said.

Protesters young and old came to the Boca Raton rally, organized by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Boca Raton.

Nick Campbell, 55, of Boca Raton, has been protesting since before the war began. Though President Bush has been steadfast in his commitment to Iraq, Campbell said protesting is an effective way to get other people thinking about the war.

"It raises the visibility of it," he said. "I just feel like I can't sit home when I know the situation."

The group attracted more than 200 for a candlelight vigil last month in support of California mom Cindy Sheehan, who camped outside Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch and protested against the war that claimed her son's life. Sheehan attended Saturday's rally in the nation's capital.

Thousands of protesters marched in front of the White House before settling in at the Washington Monument for an 11-hour concert and rally featuring folk singer Joan Baez.

A rally for military families was scheduled in Washington, D.C., to counter the anti-war sentiment.

For Kristin Kalliche, 24, the call to remove the troops is more urgent now as the nation recovers from Hurricane Katrina.

"Billions of dollars have gone to the war," said Kalliche, a Fort Lauderdale resident. "We need them now. Now, it's a matter of resources."

Information from The New York Times and Bloomberg News was used to supplement this report.

Patty Pensa can be reached at ppensa@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6609. Ushma Patel can be reached at upatel@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6621.